Koreans Associate Retirement with Poverty, Loneliness

In most of advanced economies, the word retirement invokes positive images, but in Korea it is most associated with economic hardship, fear and loneliness.

This is the result of a 2011 survey carried out by British bank HSBC of 17,000 people between 30 and 60 in 17 countries.

Many people in Korea work long hours -- 2,100 hours a year on average -- before they retire and have little time to spend with their family. This often leads to feelings of boredom and loneliness once they are no longer working.

But 39 percent out of 1,096 Korean respondents thought of retirement as an opportunity for a new chapter in life.